Refrigerator-door closing and locking means.



J. F. O'CONNOR.

REFRIGERATOR DOOR ,CLOSING AND LOCKING MEANS.

v APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7.l914.

Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

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J. F. OCONNOR.

REFRIGERATOR DOOR CLOSING AND'LOCKING MEANS. APPLICATION FILED A'ue. I7.1914.

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mum 1 I lllll WITNESSES saa'rns PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. OCONNOR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM H. MINER, OFCHAZY, NEW YORK.

REFRIGERATOR-DOOR CLOSING AND LOCKING MEANS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

Application filed August 17, 1914. Serial No. 857,107.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. OCoNNoR, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Refrigerator-DoorClosing and Looking Means, of which the following is a full, clear,concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerator door closing andlocking means, and more particularly to closing and looking means fordoors of refrigerator cars, although the device is also equally usefulin connection with any doors of a car or other construction such, forinstance, as the end .doors of an automobile car.

An object of the invention is, to provide a closing and lockingmechanism which will firmly move the doors to closed position, andsecurely hold them locked in such condition.

The invention furthermore consists in the parts and devices, and in thenovel combinations of the parts and devices herein shown and describedor claimed.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure l is a sideelevation of a refrigerator car door showing my improvements inconnection therewith; Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view takensubstantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailhorizontal sectional View showing more particularly the meeting edges ofthe doors, the nut and bolt for.

operating the locking lever, and the method of mounting the nut in thedoors; Fig. 4: is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing another form of myinvention; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view takensubstantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a detailelevational view showing more particularly the means for detachablyconnect ing the free end of the locking lever with one of the doors.

Referring now more particularly to Figs.

1 to 3 inclusive, 10 and '11 denotethe doors, which are mounted onhinges 1212 and arranged to swing outwardly in opposite directions, thedoor 10 having its free edge beveled as indicated at 13, and the freeedge of the door 11 being oppositely beveled, each of the free edgesbeing covered with arsuitable packing 14 of canvas or the like, and oneof said doors being provided with a sprmg pressed backing strip 15, thebackmg strip 15 being mounted in the door 11, as shown in the drawings.Between the door ambs 16l6 and the adjacent edges of the swinging doors,similar insulating packmgs 17 are provided,see Fig. 2. For closmg thedoors and holding the same locked, I provide a lever or arm 18, which isplvotally connected to the door 10 at-19, the free end of said lever 18being rounded off as indicated at 20, and-adapted to slidably engage awear plate 21 on" the inner side of the door 11. Pivotally connected tothe lever 18 at about the center thereof by a pin 22 is a threaded bolt23 which extends through the door 10, and is operated in the mannerabout to be described, said bolt havmg at the outer end thereof alimiting nut 123. The door 10 is provided with a recess 24 extendingentirely therethrough, and located near the free edge thereof andopposlte the lever 18. Mounted in said recess, and permanently attachedto the door 10 is a hollowed bearing which comprises a cupshaped member25 secured in place as by screws 26, and a plate 27, also secured inplace by suitable means such as screws 26, said plate 27 and cup-shapedmember 25 having inter-engaging flanges 30,'see Fig. 3. The cup-shapedmember 25, near the bottom thereof, is provided with a concave bearingsurface31. A convex bearing surface 32 is also provided in which isrockably mounted a nut 33, said nut being threaded to cooperate with thethreaded bolt 23, as will be understood. The nut, 33 has an outwardlyextended tubular member 3% which, at its inner end, is provided with aconvex shoulder 35 cooperable with the concave surface 31, and formingtherewith a tight smooth fit. At its outer end the tubular member 34 hasformed, rigidly or I integrally therewith, a hand-wheel 36 whereby thenut 33 may be easily rotated in either direction. At its inner end thenut 33 is interiorly threaded as indicated 211337, and secured theretoisa cap or washer 38, the washer or cap being held in place and preventedfrom' accidental removal by means of a screw or other suitable fasteningdevice 39LAt one portion in its periphery, the hand-wheel 36 is providedwith a recessed projection 40, over which is.

adapted to fit a hasp 41 pivotally connected to the door by a staple 42.When the hasp is fitted over the projection 40, a sealing wire 43 may beinserted through the perforated member 40, and a seal 44 applied theretoin the usual manner, to thereby prevent tampering with the door after ithas been securely locked. On the outer side of the door 11, a plate 45is attached thereto which is rabbeted as at 46, and with whichcoiiperates an extension 47 formed on the cup-shaped bearing member 25.

The operation of the device is as follows: In the drawings, the doorsare shown as in closed position, and to open them, the hand-wheel 36will be rotated counterclockwise, which will turn the nut 33 and therebyforce the bolt and the lever 18 inwardly. As soon as the lever 18 hasbeen pushed inwardly a 511111016111.) distance, the hand-wheel 36 may begrasped, and the doors 10 and 11 pulled outwardly until they have beenopened to such an extent that the free edge of the door 11 will readilypass by the extended flange 47 whereupon the door 11 may be throwncompletely open, and afterward the door 10 can be similarly throwncompletely back. During the rotation of the hand-wheel 36, it will benoted that the gradually changing angular relation between the bolt 23and the lever arm 18 is accommodated on account of the convex bearingprovided for the nut 33, and the nut is prevented from movementtransversely of the door 10 by means of the collar or washer 38 and theshoulder formed on the inner end of the tubular extension 34.

In closing the doors, the reverse operation of that above describedtakes place. As the hand-wheel 36 is rotated clockwise, the flange 47will engage the plate 45 and force both doors inwardly, the free end ofthe lever 18 taking bearing on the plate 21, and sliding thereon as theoperation continues. When the doors are fully closed, it is apparentthat the same cannot come open accidentally, and, furthermore, thatthere is a substantially air-tight fit between the concave bearing 31and convex shoulder 35, which is desirable in preventing air fromcirculating between the outside and the inside of the doors.

In the construction shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the bolt, hand-wheel,nut, bearing therefor, and inter-engaging members on the free edges ofthe two hinged doors are the same, and hence a repetition of thedescription of these parts is omitted. The free end of the lever 118,however, .is provided with a pivoted T-shaped slide 50 pivotallyconnected to the arm 118 as by a de tachable pin 51. The lateralextensions 52',52 of the slide 50, slide in ways ,53 formed in a plate54 secured to the inner side of the door 11. The ways 53 are formed byoverhanging flanges 55 which, however, only extend approximately halfthe length of the plate 54, said flanges terminating at 56, as indicatedin Figs. 4 and 6. Beyond the ends of the flanges 56 the recess in theplate 54 is widened sufficiently for the ex tensions 52 of the slide 50to be easily removed therefrom, whereby the slide 50 may be disengagedfrom the door 11.

The operation of the construction shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 is quitesimilar to that hereinbefore described for the structures shown in Figs.1 to 3 inclusive, except that in closing the doors, the same will berelatively positioned so that the slide 50 may be inserted in theenlarged opening in the plate 54, after which, as the doors aregradually forced home, the slide 50 engages in the ways 53 until thedoors are securely locked. In opening the doors, rotation of thehandwheel counter-clockwise tends to force the lever arm 1 18baclnvardly, but on account of the same being connected at both ends tothe doors 10 and 11, the continued counterclockwise rotation of thehand-wheel will automatically serve to force the free edges of the twodoors outwardly until such time as the slide 50 has reached a pointwhere it may be disengaged from the plate 54.

lVhile I have herein described specifically two forms of my invention, Iam aware that the invention may be embodied in different constructionsthan those shown, and I do not wish to be limited by the drawings anddescription herein, except as defined in the claims appended hereto.

I claim I 1. In a door locking mechanism, the combination with a doordirectly hinged along one edge thereof, of a lever pivoted at one end tosaid door, said lever having its free end extended beyond the free edgeof the door, and adapted to bear on the surface of an adjacent member,and adjustable tightening means connecting said lever to said door, saidmeans being attached to the lever intermediate its ends.

2. In a door locking mechanism, the combination with a pair ofoppositely swinging hinged doors, of a lever carried by one of saiddoors, and having its free end extended so as to bear on the other door,and adjustable means connecting said lever with one of the doors. 1

3. Ina door locking mechanism,the combination with a pair of oppositelyswinging hinged doors, of a member carried by one of said doors, saidmember extending over, and adapted to engage the other of said doors,and means adjustably connecting said member with the door by which it iscarried.

4. In a door locking mechanism, the combination with a pair ofoppositely swinging hinged doors, of a-lever carried by one of saiddoors, and'having its free end extended so as to bear on the other door,and adjustable means connecting said lever with one of the doors, saidmeans including a nut and a bolt cooper-able therewith.

5. In a door locking mechanism, the combination with a pair ofoppositely swinging hinged doors, of a lever carried by one of saiddoors, and having its free end extended so as to bear on the other door,and adjustable means connecting said lever with one of the doors, saidmeans including a threaded bolt carried by said lever and extendingthrough the door, and a nut rotatably mounted in the door.

6. In a door locking mechanism, the combination with a pair ofoppositely swinging hinged doors, of a lever carried by one of saiddoors and having its free end extended so as to bear on the other door,a nut rotatably mounted in the door by which said lever is carried, abolt pivotally connected to the lever arm and extending through saidnut, and means for rotating said nut.

7 In a door locking mechanism, the combination with oppositely swinginghinged doors, one of said doors having a bearing mounted therein, of anut rotatably mounted in said bearing, a lever arm pivotally connectedto one of said doors, and a bolt pivotally connected to said lever armand eX- tending through said nut.

8. In a door locking mechanism, the combination with a pair ofoppositely swinging hinged doors having cooperating beveled edges, ofmeans mounted on the doors for forcing said doors to closed position,and holding the same locked, said means including a pivotally mountedlever, a threaded bolt pivotally connected to the said lever, a nutcooperable with said bolt, and a bearing in which said nut is rotatablyand rockably mounted.

9. In a door locking mechanism, the combination with a pair of hingeddoors, one of said doors having a projection at its free edgeadapted tooverlap and engage the free edge of the opposite door to thereby movethe latter, of a lever pivotally connected to the door having saidprojection, and adjustable means connecting said lever and the door bywhich it is carried, whereby the angular relation between the lever andsaid door may be varied.

10. In a door locking mechanism, the combination with a pair ofoppositely swinging, pivoted doors, of a lever pivotally connected toone of said doors, means, including a rotatable nut, for adjusting theposition of the said lever relative to the door by which it is carried,and a bearing for said nut, said bearing comprising a hollow membersecured to the door, said bearing and nut having cooperating curvedsurfaces to permit relative movement and to maintain a tight fittherebetween.

11. In a door locking mechanism, the combination with a pair ofoppositely swinging, pivoted doors, of a lever pivotally connected toone of said doors, means, including a rotatable nut, for adjusting theposition of the said lever relative to the door by which it is carried,and a bearing for said nut, said bearing comprising a hollow membersecured to the door, said bearing and nut having cooperating curvedsurfaces to permit relative movement and to maintain a tight fittherebetween, said nut being provided with a hand-wheel for operatingit.

12. In a door locking mechanism of the character described, thecombination with a pair of oppositely swinging hinged doors, or" a leverpivotally connected to one of said doors, means for adjusting therelative position of said lever to the door by which it is carried, andmeans for detachably connecting the free end of said lever with theother door.

13. In a door locking mechanism of the character described, thecombination with a pair of oppositely swinging hinged doors, of a leverpivotally connected to one of said doors, means for adjusting therelative position of said lever and the door by which it is carried, andmeans for detachably connecting the free end of said lever with theother door, said last named means including a pivotally mounted slidecarried by the lever, and a plate .carried by the door, said slide andplate having interfitting, relatively slidable flanges.

14. In a door locking mechanism of the character described, thecombination with a pair of oppositely swinging hinged doors, of a leverpivotally connected to one of said doors, means for adjusting therelative position of said lever to the door by which it is carried, andmeans for detachably connecting the free end of said lever with theother door, said means including a plate secured to the door, and a.slide pivotally con nected to the free end of the lever, said slidehaving a T-shaped head engageable with the plate, the plate having anenlarged recess at one portion thereof permitting the T-shaped head ofthe slide to disengage from the plate. 7

JOHN F. .OCONNOR. Witnesses:

CARRIE G. RANZ, ARLINE R. ARNOLD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

